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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-18 - PB TOWN OF ULYSSES PLANNING BOARD 11 /18/08 APPROVED 12/02/08 Present: Chairperson Ken Zeserson, Planning Board Members : Stan Beames, Rod Hawkes, David Means, Rod Porter, Rebecca Schneider, John Wertis Deputy Supervisor Dick Coogan, Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun Mr. Zeserson called the meeting to order at 6 : 55 pm . He stated they would be discussing the Conservation Zone . He would like to start with his impression of what this Board wants to do . He would like to develop consensus of what they want to do . The ultimate goal would be a public meeting to present why they want to do this, the rationale for it and what they want to do . They would have to be prepared to answer questions, they may have an irate group, but in the back of their minds they need to anticipate questions that may come up . Mr. Zeserson stated he would like to lay out the skeleton of this presentation. Mr. Rachun has been helpful in obtaining basic information to use as a reference . Mr. Zeserson stated : Rationale NYS Town Law clearly gives the right to change within in existing zoning specialized districts . The Town Board also sent a resolution to this Board to come up with planning/zoning recommendations for conservation areas, unique natural areas, lakefront zoning, etc . He feels this establishes adequate rational from the State and Local government to pursue this . What do we want to do There are many ways to do conservation zoning, through the various meetings with oversight from Alex and Dick, he believes an overlay zone is the best tool . This is a regulatory tool that creates a special zoning district placed over an existing zone . This area is currently zoned R1 and this overlay zone would designate special provisions in addition to the underlying base zone . What are they used for? Overlay districts can manage development in environmentally sensitive areas such as ground water recharge areas, special habitat and prevent flood damage, this is in the ballpark of what they want to accomplish. Strategic Goals He has laid out overall strategic goals with tactics . The strategic goals are preserve open space, protect natural features, identify and protect UNA ' s, prevent stormwater pollution, provide space and refuge for wildlife . Conservation Area The area based on prior meetings is around the Black Diamond Trail . He referenced the Comp . Plan maps, the lighter green (Environmental) and darker green (Conservation) areas are areas they have discussed protecting in prior meetings . The boundaries would be : West of NYS Route 89 including Maplewood and Glenwood Road . East would be DuBois Road and Willow Creek Road South would be Town of Ithaca line North would be the Seneca County line . Tactical Goals As discussed in prior meetings why do they want to do this and what is the point. They stated viewsheds from DuBois Road to Route 89 , there are also erodible soils in this area they want to protect. There are 3 UNA ' s in that parcel . Mr. Rachun stated there are more UNA ' s than not in this area if you review the map . • Planning Board 2 11 / 18/2008 Mr. Zeserson stated this is R1 and Parks and Recreation. What to do to make this overlay district different from the current district. He believes they wanted to make this more restrictive . The Town of Ithaca has established 7 acre lots, in discussions with Dave, Alex and Dick they would like to propose 5 acre districts . Currently, zoning allows 5 % developed they would like to propose a decrease to 3 % , this would still allow up to 6 ,000 square feet of development on the lots. ` Another critical area due to lake shore is taking out trees , another item they could do is if trees to be removed are more than 10 inches they need to defer to the Planning Board . They could also reduce the SEQR thresholds, this would compliment the other changes. The current thresholds are can they park a 1000 cars, would the daily water use be 2 million gallons . The Village of Trumansburg has decreased these thresholds to a quarter acre and more reasonable thresholds . They could decrease these parameters and have them be more effective, this would trigger reviews before they start to develop this land. If water comes up Route 89 they could have 300, 400 or 500 homes up here unless they have preexisting zoning that would prevent that or make it difficult to severely alter the area. The Comp Plan states the residents of this town want to preserve the rural character, to do this they would need zoning. Mr. Rachun stated the residents and this Board would have to understand agricultural is an exempt use and they have no way of changing this . This zoning would not apply to the farms just single/two family residences . They may complain because farmers consider their land their bank. But chopping up of the land which would be counter productive to farming as well as everything else they are trying to do . The balance would be creating a sizeable lot to put a single family house in scale to that lot without altering the character of this area. The 5 acre lot would be a good start, there is also the 30/70 zoning, cluster areas of incentive zoning, there are all sorts of opportunities to apply to this . Mr. Means asked if there was restriction on the road frontage . He is referencing DuBois Road which has a lot of road frontage . Mr. Kerness referenced the Town of Ithaca zoning which references a lot of the items he believes they would have to incorporate into this overlay district. He made copies of this r and distributed them to the other members for their use. Mr. Means asked if there is farm land in the conservation zone in Ithaca. Mr. Porter stated not on the Route 89 conservation district . Ms . Kerness stated they could review this document and establish their own parameters however it is a good base to start with. Ms . Schneider stated she agreed with the erodible soils and streams, as well as stormwater areas . DuBois Road and Willow Creek are nice boundaries but habitat wise there are erodible soils West of this area. Mr. Kerness stated she should review the document the Town of Ithaca does not allow building on 25 degree slopes . There are stormwater management plans that are required . Mr. Rachun stated he agreed with Ms . Schneider the Willow Creek Glen area up to Route 96 does have a big impact on this area. Ms . Schneider stated she likes Mr. Zeserson ' s leadership and tree control but they have not mentioned prohibiting from clear cutting and making a 5 acre lawn. With these steep slopes they could well justify preventing this to prevent erosion. Mr. Coogan stated in the design standards they could say on erodible soils on steep slopes this is the guiding principal and specify restrictions . This would help in preventing this type of clear cutting. Mr. Rachun stated an example is they could require reforestation plans to replace what is removed on that lot. Planning Board 3 11 / 18/2008 Mr. Kerness stated he had reviewed the Ithaca law and it became a good document for designing the design guidelines . They reference scenic views, streams, building lots, slopes, etc . Mr. Zeserson stated if they use this as a reference and update to what they are looking for it would make sense to use this document. These zones border each other thus it makes sense to him that they should be similar. They could adapt to what this Board wants. Mr. Means states it does make sense however a 10 inch tree is large in his opinion he would recommend a 6 inch tree . He asked for clarification as to the percentage of lot size and what would be allowed . Mr. Zeserson stated 3 % would be 6000 square feet which would be the footprint of the house. Mr. Kerness stated Ithaca uses 10% but that includes the driveway, sheds , garages, pools etc built on the lot. He asked Mr. Rachun if the North boundary goes to Taughannock Falls State Park, what would be the boundary West of this area. The members reviewed the map and after review stated it might make sense to use the Black Diamond Trail as the Western most boundary. It was noted there is flat land in this area. A discussion of the boundaries was held in respect to the Seneca County line, Black Diamond Trail, the UNA ' s in that area. The properties on the lake in that area would be in the lakeshore zoning area. A discussion of the accuracy of the maps was held, upon review it was determined they are correct. Mr. Porter noted that Taughannock Farms Inn would be in this area. Mr. Zeserson stated that not knowing what the business plan is they could not predict but he could not see them putting in two acre lots , but that could be considered when they are drafting the design criteria. He informed the members to draft this they would have to have a series of meetings . The public hearing obviously but he would like to propose they have an initial meeting with the large land holders in this area as a preliminary meeting. They need to get the ground work done before any of these meetings . Mr. Coogan stated they need to remember that when they are looking at this zone there are other types of zoning in this area. Their current use would not change but if they wanted to change the overlay zoning would be applicable . Mr. Hawkes asked if they would have to conform to the new zoning. Mr. Rachun stated it is part of the zoning law if the property was a legal conforming lot prior to the zoning it would remain so . However, if they were to make changes they would have to be in compliance with the new zoning requirements : Mr. Zeserson stated that a good example of this would be the Maplewood area, most of these lots are a half acre, that is why they are looking at having that be a different zoning area as it would be comparing apples to oranges . Mr. Rachun stated another item recommended is that everything goes through site plan review. If it requires a building permit it would go through site plan . He referenced a lot on Agard that has an 1800 square foot building, often times the accessory building has a larger impact on the lot. Other than a barn which is exempt requiring this would allow the Board to mitigate accessory buildings impact on the lots . _ Mr. Porter noted that the site plan review is not an approval process . It does not give the Board the authority to deny an application but rather review and recommend. He noted the establishment of a 5 acre lot or 7 acre lot does not accomplish protecting the view Planning Board 4 11 / 18/2008 sheds, it would have to require other criteria. You take a 5 acre chunk vs . restricting it to a smaller area and leaving the other areas open. Mr. Rachun agreed with the site plan review not being an approval process, he stated that is why the design standards are so important. The design standards help regulate the development in this zone. Ms . Schneider stated they need to go through this and review all of the elements to see if it would work for this project. Mr. Zeserson proposed the members review the Ithaca Conservation Zone law, mark up what they like, what they don ' t like, comments , questions , changes etc . and bring to the next meeting . He asked the members if they felt this would be a good way to proceed . They have a working meeting scheduled for December 2 , 2008 . The members agreed and stated they would review and prepare for the next meeting. Mr. Porter stated he could not attend this meeting but would review and forward comments , etc to Mr. Zeserson. Mr. Wertis asked if anyone had spoken to the Town of Ithaca Planning people to see what their thoughts are on how this is working. He would like to recommend we send an invitation to Sue Ritter. Mr. Zeserson stated they had asked her to come to a meeting and she did a presentation. He would be willing to ask her to come on December 2nd . Ms . Carlisle Peck asked if they would be meeting at 7 : 00 or 7 : 30? The members discussed and agreed to meet at 7 : 00 pm on December 2 , 2008 . Ms . Carlisle Peck presented the minutes from 10/21 /08 meeting. Mr. Means made the MOTION to APPROVE, Mr. Zeserson SECONDED the MOTION. The vote was taken, ALL IN FAVOR, MINUTES APPROVED . The meeting was adjourned at 7 : 55 pm . Respectfully submitted, Robin Carlisle Peck Secretary I .